Cloth-pressing machine



(No Model.)

- e Sheets-Sheet 1. D. GESSNER. CLOTH PRESSING MAGHINE 1%. 576,666.Patented Feb. 9, 1897.

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D. GESSNER.

I GLOTH PRESSING MACHINE. N0. 576,666, 6 P666 11 6 Feb. 9/1897.

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(No Model.)

D. GESSNER. CLOTH rmzssme MACHINE.

No. 576,666. Patented Feb. 9, 1897.

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of the bed-plate casting.

' "UNITE-D STATES PATENT .rricn.

DAVID GESSNER, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

CLOTH-PRESSING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 576,666, dated February9, 1897.

Application filed December 18, 1894- Serial No. 532,138. 1N0 model.)

To ctZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, DAVID GESSNER, a citizen of the United States,'and aresident-of Worcester, in the county of Worcester and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCloth- Pressing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

Inthe accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an end view of the machine,looking at the end on which the driving mechanism is situated. Fig. 2 isa cross-section taken intermediate the two end frames with partsomitted. Fig. 3 is a front view of the driving mechanism. Fig. 4 is asectional front view of the same. Fig. 5 is a detail of shaft 26 andFig. 6 is a detail of shafts 35 and 38 andconnections. Fig. 7 is a planwith driving parts omitted. Fig. 8 is an end view of jacket detached.Fig. 9 is an end view of another form of jacket detached. Fig. 10 is across-section of bed-plate with jacket attached. Fig. 11 is a sectionalisometric view Fig. 12 is a crosssection of another form of bed-platewith a jacket (shown in Fig. 12) attached. Fig. 12 is a form ofjacket'detached. Fig. 13 is a longitudinal section through the bed-plateof Fig. 10. Figs. 14 and 15 are cross-sections of other forms ofbed-plates Fig. 14 is a longitudinal section of the bed-plate of Fig.14. Fig. 16 is a view of the machine from the end opposite to that fromwhich Fig. 1 is taken, with the addition of a platform and sewingmachineattachment. Figs. 17, 18, 19, and are details.

1 is the pulley by which the whole machine is driven.

2 is the cylinder.

3 and 4 are the bed-plates. The cylinder is mounted in fixed bearings inthe end frames 5. Each of these end frames is preferably made of twomembers with a space 5 between to receive the levers 42 43 and 42 43 foroperating the ends of the bed-plates. The bed-plates are mounted oncarriages 93.

6 and 7 are guideways or slides connected with frames 5, upon which thebed-plates move to and from the cylinder.

The cylinderis driven from the prime mover or pulley 1 by a chain ofmechanism, which is shown as consisting of the following members: Clutch8, shifted into or out of action by the shifting-lever 9, drives shaft10. Pinion 11, keyed on shaft 10, drives gear-wheel 12, connected withpinion 13, which drives gear-wheel 14, keyed to cylinder-shaft 15.

The bed-plates are reciprocated by a chain of mechanism connected withthe pulley 1, which is shown as consisting of the following members:Pulley 1 is keyed to sleeve 16, which carries the gear 17, meshing withthe gear 18, running loosely on shaft 19 and carrying one member 20 of aconical frictionclutch. (See Fig. 4.) The other frictionclutch member 21is splined to shaft 19 and shifted by the shifting-lever 22. Thebevelgear 23 is keyed to the shaft 19 and meshes into 'the bevel -gears24 and 25, running loosely upon the shaft 26. (See Fig. 5.)

27 is a clutch splined to the shaft 26 between the gears 24 and 25,witheither of which it may be engaged by the operation of the shifting-lever28, which is connected with the hand-lever 29 through the rock-shaft 30,finger 31, and the link 32.

33 is a worm fixed upon the shaft 26 and engaging with worm-wheel 34,(see Fig. 6,) keyed to the shaft 35, to which is also keyed the pinion36, meshing with the wheel 37, keyed to the shaft 38, to which is alsokeyed the heads 39, to which are pivoted the links and 41, pivoted tothe. levers 42 and 43, fulcrurned to the frame at 44 and 45 and bearingagainst the bed-plates through the links 46'and 47. (See Figs. 2, 3, and16.)

The constant rotation of the prime moving pulley 1 in the same directionmay be caused .to either actuate or not actuate the bed-plates byshifting the clutch 21, Fig. 4. When actuating, it may be made toactuate them in either direction by shifting the clutch 27, Fig. 5.

The shifting-lever 22, by which the clutch member 21 is actuated, ismoved to throw the clutch into engagement by the foot-lever 48, Fig. 4,connected with the shifting-lever 22, by the link 49 and the lever 50,so that the depression of the foot-lever 48 will force upward the longarm of the shifting-lever 22. The shifting-lever 22 is moved to throwthe clutch out of engagement by the foot-lever 51,

Figs. 1, 3, and :20, the depression of which pulls downward the long armof the lever Therefore the attendant by pressing his foot on lever 18will throw the clutch 21 into gear, and by pressing his foot on thelever 51 will throw it out of gear. the throwing out being assisted bythe coiled spring 52, Fig. 4.

The extent to which the bed-plates are forced up toward the cylinder inthe forward movement for pressing will be limited by a rack 53, Fig. 1,abutting against the adjustable notched stop-cam 54 and geared to theshaft 38 by the segment-gear 55, Figs. 6 and 19. In the forward movementfor pressing, as soon as the end of the rack 53 strikes against thestop-cam 54', there will he a slip between the clutch members 20 and 21,by observing which the attendant can disengage those clutch members assoon as the bedplates have been forced up to a point for pressingpredetermined by the adjustment of the stop-cam 54:. In Fig. 7it will beseen that there are three sets of these mechanisms for each bed-plate.The levers 42 and 413 and their links 46 and 47 are arranged at themiddle of each bed-plate. The levers 43 and 42 and their links 47 and 16are arranged at one end of the bed-plates. The levers 43" and 42 andtheir links 47 and 16 are arranged at the other end of the bed-plates.The links 46 and 47 at the middle of the bed require only abuttingconnections with the bed-plates, as shown in Fig. 2; but the links 46,47, 1G", and 17 are shackled to the backs of the bed-plates, or ratherto the eyes 92 on the projections 90 91 at the ends of the bedplates, asshown in Fig. 7. The distribution of the pressure at the middle of thebed-plates, as well as at or near the ends, effectually prevents thespringing of the bed-plate and enables truss-rods to be dispensed withand a much greater pressure to be attained than was possible even withthe assistance of truss rods. To enable the bed-plates to withstand thispressure without collapsing, they are provided, as shown in Fig. 2 andelsewhere, with supports 68 69, extending at intervals across theinterior steam-space in the line of pressure.

The operative parts are mounted as follows: The shaft 10 and the sleeve16, mounted upon it, have bearings upon the stands 56, 57, 58, and 59,all fixed to the same base-plate 60, which underlies the whole machineand to which end frames 5 are fixed. The shaft 19 hasits bearingsagainst the sides of the stands 56, 57, and 5S and is secured to thoseheal ings by the caps 61, 62, and 63, by the removal of which caps theshaft 19 and the parts carried by it may be removed from the machine. Atthe same time the shaft 10 and its connected mechanism may be removedupward by the removal of the caps 64, 65, 66, and 67. Thus either theshaft 19 or the shaft 10 may be removed from the machine withoutdismounting the other, andat the same time they are prevented fromspringing by being supplied with bearings arranged close up to thepoints at which the poweris applied.

A means for securing the sheet-metal jackets 70 to their bed-plates isshown in Figs. 2 and S. This consists in giving the edge of thesheet-metal jacket where it overlaps the edge of the bed-plate a reverseturn, as at 71 and 72, and providing a series of hooks, as 73 and 74-,to engage at intervals with the reverse turn and secure it to a seriesof lugs, as 75 and 7 6, cast on the bed-plate. Set-nuts 77 and 78 may beprovided on the ends of the hooks for adjustment.

One advantage of the reversed turn 71 or 72 is that it acts as astiffener of the edge to distribute the strain of the hooks from one endof the edge to the other and prevent the sheetanetal jacket beingrendered uneven on the surface by being drawn closer down opposite thehooks than at other points, as occurs when the edge is not stiffened. Asomewhat similar result can be accomplished by substituting for thereverse turns reinforcing-bars, as 79 80, Fig. 9, being riveted at ornear the edges of the sheet-metal jacket and being provided withperforations, which also extend through the jacket to receive the pointsof the hooks, as shown.

Bed-plate steam-chambers are shown in Figs. 2, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14c, and15. I have shown the bed-plate as containing a compartment separate fromthe general heating-compartment and intended for supplying steam to thecloth during its treatment. In Figs. 2, 10, 11, 12, and 13 thiscompartment is numbered S1 and is supplied with steain independently ofthe ordinary steam=heatin g coinpartment S2. Adjacent to the compartment81 the face of the bed-plate behind the sheetmetal jacket is groovedfrom end to end, as at 83, and the wall between this groove and thecompartment 81 contains a series of perforations S4. The sheet-metaljacket is also perforated between the cloth and the groove 83. The steamfrom the compartment 81 passes through the perforations 845 into thegroove 83, where it is equably distributed to the various perforationsin the jacket and through them discharged onto the cloth.

In Fig. let the steam-compartment 81, the perforation 84:, and thegroove 83 are located in the middle of the bed-plate, and of Fig. 15 thesame is true, excepting that the groove is omitted. In neither Fig. 14nor Fig. 15 is any jacket shown; but if used the jacket will beperforated as described for the other figures.

The perforation of the jacket may be avoided, as shown in Fig. 12. Inthis case between the bed-plate chambers 81 and 82 a recess 85 is formedin the face of the bed=plate to receive one end of. the sheet-metaljacket, so that that portion of the bed plate adjacent to theheating-chamber S2 is faced by the sheetmetal jacket and at that portionadjacent to the steam=chamber 81 is unfaced by the sheetmetal jacket.The end of the sheet-metal jacket extends intothe recess and is heldthere bya series of set-screws 86, which pass through holes in thebed-plate and are screwed into a bar 87, ,riveted to the edge of. thesheet- I metaljacket, Figs. 12 and 12 The baracts as an edge-stiffenerand maybe replaced bya reverse turn similar to '71 of Fig. 2, as shownin Fig. 8. The recess 85 is wider than the thickness of the jacket, andthe edge of the recess over which the jacket passes isrounded, as shownin Fig. 12. This affords play for the jacket and enables it toaccommodate itself to the forces acting upon it.

The back of the bed-plate I construct as shown in Figs. 10 and 11,providing in line with the internal studs 68 and 69 therearwardly-extending flanges or ribs 88 and 89, which are planedparallel with the face of the bed-plate. 90 91 are projections from theends of the bed-plates containing the eyes 92, Figs. 7 and 11, to whichthe links 46, 46 47, and 47 are shackled. The bed-plate projections restuponcarriages 93, mounted on the guideways 6 7.

- The brushes 110 111 are mounted upon brackets 112 and 1123, Figs. 1,3,and 16, secured to the outside of the machine, so that the brushes maybe lifted off their bearings and reversed end for end with facility. Thebrush 110 is driven from the pulley 114 by the belt 115, and on theopposite sideof the machine, Fig. 16, the brush 111 is driven from thebrush 110 by the belt 116.

The cloth is steamedhorizontally or approximately so. Before it reachesthe brushes the steamer 117, located upon a bracket 118, is so arrangedas to throw the steam into the cloth from the side 119, so that thecloth is steamed in passing upwardly to the first brush. By causing thesteamer to emit the steam from its side instead of from the top Idispense with the friction necessary for guiding the cloth in ahorizontal direction. Similarly after the cloth leaves thepressing-surfaces it is steamed by the steamer 120, Fig. 1, emittingsteam from the side adjacent to the cloth. By having the steamer at therear of the machine to steam sidewise against the face of the clothafter the cloth has been pressed the effect is to remove the finish moreon the face than'on the back, which is an improvement over the effect ofsteaming vertically. The sidewise steaming against the face of the clothat the front of the machine is in advance of the brushing, and thelocation of the steamer near the bottom of the machine takes it out ofthe way of the operator and prevents its drip from falling on otherparts of the machine.

In Figs. 17 and 18 are shown in detail the mounting of thefriction-roll150 upon the extremity of a swing-finger 151, the frictionbeing produced by the pulley 152, surrounded by the clamp 153, hinged tothe swing-finger at 154. Thus in whatever position the roll 150 may beplaced by the adjustment of the swingfinger to cooperate with the brush110 the friction willfalways be exerted.

The object of the friction on roll-150 (which is shown in connectionwith the machine in Fig. 16) is to act as a holdback upon the clothbetween it and the pressing-surfaces.

I clainr 1 I 1. In a cloth-pressing machine, in combination, a cylinder,a bed-plate, a prime mover, mechanism containing a friction-clutchconnecting the bed-plate and prime mover, a spring tending to separatethe parts of the friction-clutch, a lever, assisting said spring andmeans for operating said lever in a direction to assist said spring,substantially as described.

2. In a cloth-pressin g machine, in combination, a cylinder, abed-plate, a prime mover, mechanism containing a friction-clutchconnecting the bed-plate and prime mover a lever for connecting anddisconnecting the parts of said friction-clutch and two levers, wherebysaid first-named lever is operated in opposite directions, substantiallyas described.

3. In a cloth-pressin g machine, in combination, the cylinder-shaft, theend frames supporting the frame, the base-plate, the shaft 10 carryingthe prime mover, connections between said shaft and the cylinder-shaft,the shaft 19, connections between said shaft and the bed-plate andstands connected with the base-plate of the machine having bearings,respectively for'said shaft 10 and said shaft 19, arranged substantiallyas described whereby either of said shafts may be removed independentlyof the other, substantially as described.

4. In a cloth-pressing machine, in combination, a cylinder, a bed-plate,a shaft 38, connections between thebed-plate and said shaft, a primemover and the following mechanism for actuating said shaft, viz: theworm 33, the worm-wheel 34 engaging therewith, the gear 36 driven bysaid worm-wheel, the gear 37 driven by said gear 36 and mechanismwhereby said worm is actuated from said prime mover, substantially asdescribed.

5. A rotary cloth-press bed-plate provided with an internalsteam-chamber and a series of internal strengthening-ribs arrangedalternately in said chamber, substantially as described.

6. In a rotary cloth-press, in combination, a sheet-metal jacket and abed-plate; said bed-plate containing a heating-chamber, a separatesteaming-chamber provided with an opening toward the cylinder, a recess85 between said chambers and perforations between said chambers to admitthe fastening attachments for the sheet-metal jacket; said recess beingconstructed substantially wider than the thickness of the sheet-metaljacket and being rounded at the edge over which the sheet-metaljacketpasses, substantially as described.

7. A rotary cloth-press bed-plate combining in a single casting, asteam-heating chamber, a steam-chamber provided with an opening towardthe cylinder and a recess intermediate the two wherein one edge of ajacket may be secured, substantially as described.

8. A rotary cloth-press bed-plate containing a steaming-chamber, agrooved surface next the cloth and an opening connecting saidsteaming-chamber with said groove, substantially as described.

9. In combination with a rotary cloth-press bed-plate, having alongitudinal recess in its face, a sheet-metal jacket having one of itsedges terminating in said recess,substantially as described.

10. In a clotlrpress, in combination, the cylinder, two bed-plates onopposite sides thereof, two end-frame uprights each provided with acentral support for the cylinderbearing and a bed-plate support on eachside thereof, an intermediate-frame upright eX- tending across under thecylinder and bedplates, each upright consisting of two parallel members,a base-plate to which all of said uprights are connected, thebed-plate-operating levers and the fulcrum-pins for said levers, each ofwhich is supported on each side of each lever in bearings on theopposite sides of one of said uprights, substantially as described.

11. In a cloth-pressing machine, in combination, the cylinder, thebed-plates on opposite sides of the same, three levers arranged behindeach bed-plate, means whereby the pressure of said levers is imparted tosaid bed-plates at three different points, a shaft 38, three heads 39mounted thereon, means whereby each of said heads is connected with twoopposite levers and means whereby said shaft 38 is oscillated,substantially as described.

DAVID GESSNER.

Vitn esses:

M. WILsoN, J. E. GREER.

